Tornado Damage
Waking Up To Tornado Damage In Far NW Suburbs, SE Wis. (click here)
CHICAGO (CBS 2) ― The people of the Upper Midwest are usually concerned with snowstorms and frostbite at this time of year, but the weather this week that was more befitting of the month of May came with a price – a devastating round of tornadoes.
As CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports, the weather has turned the terminals at O'Hare International Airport into dormitories, with many travelers stranded due to flight cancellations.
But relatively speaking, they were lucky compared to many residents of north central Illinois and southern Wisconsin.
A number of damaging tornadoes touched down Monday evening in the tiny town of Poplar Grove, in Boone County, Ill.,; in Harvard, in McHenry County; and across the state line in Kenosha County, Wis.
"The lady told me the sirens were not a test – there were actually a sighting," said Wisconsin resident Scott Clanton.
In Kenosha County, one tornado took out much of a subdivision, making that area off-limits as crews worked to make sure everyone was safe.
"I've never seen devastation like that here in Kenosha County," said Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth. "I've never seen homes that have been destroyed like this, and not just one or two. I've seen at least 10 or 12 homes in one area that are just leveled. And we have several pockets, several subdivisions where homes are seriously damaged or destroyed....
Tornado in southwest Missouri leaves at least two dead (click here)
The Associated Press
MARSHFIELD, Mo. At least two people were killed Monday night by tornadoes that swept across southwest Missouri, bringing with them wave after wave of driving rain, heavy wind and hail.
An elderly woman was killed near Strafford in Greene County, officials confirmed, and a 53-year-old woman was killed in a rural area north of Marshfield in Webster County.
Jaci McReynolds, a Greene County Health Department spokeswoman who was helping with emergency operations in Webster County, said the woman killed near Marshfield was found by rescuers in a wooded area near her trailer, which was destroyed.
Marshfield Fire Chief Michael Taylor said several homes were damaged or destroyed and at least five mobile homes were wiped out along a line covering about seven miles west and north of Marshfield.
Emergency crews were out checking homes and assessing damage, he said.
While it appeared Webster County had received the most damage, tornado warnings were active in several counties as the storms moved northeastward.
Violent storms began sweeping through central Missouri on Monday afternoon, with several tornado warnings in effect as early as 4:15 p.m. They intensified throughout the evening, cutting a diagonal swath from the state’s southwest corner on a line through Springfield and toward St. Louis.
“It’s very unseasonable for this time of year,” said meteorologist Benjamin Sipprell at the National Weather Service office in St. Louis. “The atmosphere is just right.”
The Associated Press
MARSHFIELD, Mo. At least two people were killed Monday night by tornadoes that swept across southwest Missouri, bringing with them wave after wave of driving rain, heavy wind and hail.
An elderly woman was killed near Strafford in Greene County, officials confirmed, and a 53-year-old woman was killed in a rural area north of Marshfield in Webster County.
Jaci McReynolds, a Greene County Health Department spokeswoman who was helping with emergency operations in Webster County, said the woman killed near Marshfield was found by rescuers in a wooded area near her trailer, which was destroyed.
Marshfield Fire Chief Michael Taylor said several homes were damaged or destroyed and at least five mobile homes were wiped out along a line covering about seven miles west and north of Marshfield.
Emergency crews were out checking homes and assessing damage, he said.
While it appeared Webster County had received the most damage, tornado warnings were active in several counties as the storms moved northeastward.
Violent storms began sweeping through central Missouri on Monday afternoon, with several tornado warnings in effect as early as 4:15 p.m. They intensified throughout the evening, cutting a diagonal swath from the state’s southwest corner on a line through Springfield and toward St. Louis.
“It’s very unseasonable for this time of year,” said meteorologist Benjamin Sipprell at the National Weather Service office in St. Louis. “The atmosphere is just right.”
